Firing pin safety device for firearms

ABSTRACT

A hand firearm has a pivotable safety shaft positioned in the breech housing transversely with respect to the firing pin for locking and unlocking the firearm. In place of the usual catch for retaining the safety shaft in its locked position, a spring is provided urging the shaft to its release position so that the safety shaft will always be in the release or firing position except when a force is exerted to retain the safety shaft in the locked position. A locking pin locks the firing pin and is released from this locking position during the last third of movement of the trigger so that the firearm is always ready for firing.

States Volkmar Aug. 20, 1974 [75] Inventor:

I 1 FIRING PIN SAFETY DEVICE FOR FIREARMS Willi Volkmar, Ulm/ Danube, Germany [22] Filed: Mar. 14, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 340,945

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 14, 1972 Germany 2212211 [52] US. Cl. 42/70 F [51] Int. Cl. F4lc 17/04 [58] Field of Search 42/70 F [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,846,925 8/1958 Norman 42/70 F Keppeler 42/70 F Ludwig 42/70 F Primary Examiner-Benjamin A. Borchelt Assistant ExaminerC. T. Jordan Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Edmund M. Jaskiewicz [57] ABSTRACT A hand firearm has a pivotable safety shaft positioned in the breech housing transversely with respect to the firing pin for locking and unlocking the firearm. In place of the usual catch for retaining the safety shaft in its locked position, a spring is provided urging the shaft to its release position so that the safety shaft will always be in the release or firing position except when a force is exerted to retain the safety shaft in the locked position. A locking pin locks the firing pin and is released from this locking position during the last third of movement of the trigger so that the firearm is always ready for firing.

6 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures WEE? 2 @F 3 PNENTED AUG 2 0 $9M FIRING PIN SAFETY DEVICE FOR FIREARMS The present invention relates to firing pin safety devices for hand firearms, more particularly, to the pivotally mounted safety shaft generally used in such firearms.

It has been known to provide hand firearms and particularly automatic firearms with a safety shaft which is pivoted between release and locking positions by means of a safety lever attached to the shaft. The safety shaft is provided with several flat edges which are brought into an effective position to lock the firing pin, the hammer, and the trigger. When it is desired to use a loaded firearm of this type, the safety lever must first be pivoted from the locking into the firing position, i.e., the safety catch of the firearm must be first released. When the firearm is urgently needed, there is a tendency to neglect unlocking the firearm so that there may occur a disadvantageous delay before the first shot is fired. This is true particularly at night since it is difficult to get a quick firing of the firearm if it is necessary for the user to feel for the safety lever because of poor visibility.

It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved safety device for small firearms, particularly automatic pistols. It is another object of the present invention to provide a safety device for firearms which when loaded are locked by the safety mechanism while being carried but are immediately ready for firing after being drawn from the holster.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a safety device for small firearms wherein pulling the trigger automatically unlocks the firing pin and the firing pin is again locked after firing occurs.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a firing pin safety device for small firearms may comprise a pivotally mounted hammer engageable with a firing pin. There is a pivotally mounted safety shaft having lock and release positions extending transversely to the firing pin and having an opening therein through which the end of the firing pin is exposed to the hammer when the shaft is in the release position. The outer surface of the safety shaft will block the hammer from the firng pin when in the locked position. A safety lever is attached to the safety shaft to enable the shaft to be pivoted to the locked position when a force is applied to the lever. In place of the known catch to retain the safety shaft in its locked position, spring means are mounted on the safety shaft for returning the shaft to the release position when the force is removed from the lever. The spring may comprise a coil tension spring mounted on the shaft with one leg of the spring being attached within a recess found in the safety shaft and the other leg being held under initial spring tension in a slotted recess in the breech housing so that the safety lever is automatically returned to the firing position.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon reference to the description when taken in conjunction with the following drawings, which are exemplary, wherein;

FIG. 1 is a partial longitudinal sectional view in enlarged scale of a hand firearm incorporating the present invention showing the hammer uncocked, the firing pin locked, and the trigger arm locked;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of that portion of the firearm in the area of the safety lever;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 but showing the hammer in the cocked position under the action of the pulled trigger;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to that of FIG. I and showing the hammer in the position when cocked manually and the firing pin being in the release position.

FIG. 6 is a view of the locking pin and firing pin as seen in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 1 and in the locked position;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 but in the released position; and

FIG. 8 is a view taken in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 6.

Proceeding next to the drawings wherein like reference symbols indicate the same parts throughout the various views, a specific embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

As may be seen in FIG. 1, a safety shaft 2 is pivotally mounted in a known manner in breech housing 1 of a small firearm which may be an automatic pistol. A firing pin 4 subjected to the action of a firing pin spring 3 has its rear end 4' protruding through an opening in the safety shaft 2 as shown in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 3 the safety shaft 2 is provided with a lateral extension upon which is positioned a coil tension spring 6. A groove 8 formed in the shaft 2 receives a leg 7 of the spring while another leg 9 of the spring is held under initial spring tension in a slot recess 10 formed in the breech housing 1 as shown in FIG. 2. A safety lever 11 which is attached to the safety shaft 2 in a known manner is moved in the direction of the arrow B to the locked position and this moving force is removed from the lever. The lever will automatically return to its horizontal or firing position under the action of spring 6 because of the absence of the customary locking device.

The safety lever 11 is pivoted manually into the locked position in the direction of the arrow B of FIG. 2 for reasons of safety during the uncocking of the cocked hammer 15 as well as for disassembling and cleaning the firearm. Therefore, the firearm is ready for firing immediately upon being drawn from the holster without the necessity for the user to first unlock the safety lever.

The lateral extension 5 about which the spring 6 is mounted is of such a diameter that the outer dimension of the spring is less than the outer diameter of the safety shaft as can be seen in FIG. 3.

In the position of the components of the firearm in FIG. 1, the firearm is uncocked and locked since the forward movement of firing pin 4 toward a cartridge 12 is prevented by a locking pin 13 that can be moved upwardly in an axial direction against the force of spring 33 to release the firing pin. Such a locking pin is known in the art and is shown in greater detail in FIG. 6-8. The tip of the firing pin indicated at 4 thus cannot reach the percussion cap of the cartridge 12 for discharging a shot, nevertheless, the firearm is ready for firing as will now be explained in detail.

In firing of the firearm, as a trigger 17 is pivotally mounted about a pin 16 is pulled, a trigger arm 19 pivotallyconnected to trigger 17 by pin 18 is pulled forward or to the left as seen in FIG. 1. A bent tab 20 on the end of the trigger arm 19 moves behind a locking projection 21 on a cocking lever 23 pivotally mounted on a pin 22. The cocking lever 23 is also pivoted in the counterclockwise direction. At the same time, a crosspiece 24 on the cocking lever 23 is positioned against a pawl 25 pivoted on a pin 26 on hammer 15 and is turned in the clockwise direction through the action of a compression spring 27 until an edge 28 of pawl 25 rests on the hammer 15.

During further pulling of the trigger 17, the pawl 25 cocks the hammer 15 until a lower edge 25 of pawl 25 slides off of the crosspiece 24 of the cocking lever 23 as shown in FIG. 4 so that the hammer 15 is subjected to the force exerted by a biasing rod 29 and a compressed spring 30 to strike in a known manner against the rear portion 4 of the firing pin. Before the pawl 25 slides off of the crosspiece 24 which occurs approximately in the last third of the movement of trigger 17, the crosspiece 24 will press simultaneously against a release lever'3l also mounted on the pin 14. The lever 31 is thus pivoted in a clockwise direction and has a curved end portion 32 which moves against the lower end of locking pin 13 for the firing pin to move the locking pin upwardly against a compression spring 33 to release the firing pin 4. At this point the firing pin is no longer subjected to the action of the safety pin.

When the firing pin 4 is struck by the hammer 15 it is pushed forward against the percussion cap of cartridge 12 and the shot is thus discharged. When the trigger 17 is released, it pivots again in the forward direction so that the trigger arm 19 moves rearwardly which in turn causes the cocking lever 23 to pivot back to its normal position as shown in FIG. 1 by means of an abutment cam 34 provided on the trigger arm 19. The crosspiece 24 of cocking lever 23 will slide along a back portion 35 of pawl 25 which yields against compression spring 27 and then pivots again with its lower edge 25' over crosspiece 24 of cocking lever 23. This return movement of cocking lever 23 causes the release lever 31 to become free again so that the locking pin 13 is urged back downwardly to its normal or locking position by compression spring 33. The movement of the locking pin 13 into its normal or locking position automatically locks again the firing pin 4.

An uncocking lever 36 indicated by dot-dash lines in FIGS. 1 and is known in the art and is pivoted into its effective position by the edge of the recess in the safety shaft 2 during pivoting of the safety lever 11 into the locked position for uncocking the cocked hammer 15. At the same time, the cocking lever 23 is taken along until the hammer having a projection 38 at its lower end is released from catch 39 and consequently abuts against the recess edge of the safety shaft 2. Otherwise, the rotation of the safety shaft 2 blocks the firing pin 4 in a known manner.

In an equivalent functional arrangement, the hammer 15 can also be cocked manually by applying pressure with the thumb against the upper rounded portion 37. As a result, the lower projection 38 on the hammer 15 will pivot the cocking lever 23 a distance until the projection 38 drops into the catch 39 of the crosspiece 24 and a blocking is attained between the hammer 15 and the crosspiece 24 in this position as shown in FIG. 5. When the crosspiece 24 is pivoted upwardly, the release lever 31 is pivoted in the manner as described above and the locking pin 13 is moved from its effective locking position with respect to the firing pin 4 so that the firearm is now cocked and unlocked. At this point, a very slight pressure on the trigger 17 is sufficient to release the lock between the crosspiece 24 and the projection 38 through a slight pivoting of the cocking lever 23. This will subject the hammer 15 to the effect of the compression spring 30 to enable the hammer to strike the firing pin 4 and effect firing. The movement of the remaining functional parts into the basic position is the same as described above. The purpose of the cam 34 on the trigger arm 19 is merely to guide the cocking lever 23 in a locking manner together with the bent tab 20 on the trigger arm 19.

After the last cartridge in the magazine has been fired, the breech remains open in a known manner and the firing pin 4, hammer 14 and trigger 17 are locked in the manner which is now customary in the art with such firearms.

Thus it can be seen that the present invention provides a firearm whose firing pin is always locked but is released during the last portion of the movement of the trigger so that it is unnecessary for the user to first unlock the safety lever before the firearm can be used.

It is understood that this invention is susceptible to modification in order to adapt it to different usages and conditions, and accordingly, it is desired to comprehend such modifications within the invention as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a firing pin safety device for small firearms, the combination of a pivotally mounted hammer engageable with a firing pin, a pivotally mounted safety shaft having lock and release positions extending transversely to the firing pin and having an opening therein through which the end of the firing pin is exposed to the hammer when the shaft is in the release position, the outer surface of said safety shaft blocking said hammer from the firing pin when in the locked position, a safety lever attached to said safety shaft to enable the shaft to be pivoted to the locked position when a force is applied to said lever, and spring means mounted on said safety shaft for biasing said shaft in the release position so that the shaft is returned to the release position when the force is removed from the lever.

2. In a firing pin safety device as claimed in claim 1, and a frame, said spring means comprising a coil tension spring around said shaft and having first and second ends, said shaft having a recess therein receiving one of said spring ends, the other end being disposed in a recess in said frame.

3. In a firing pin safety device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said shaft has a smaller diameter extension and said spring is positioned on said extension such that the outer dimension of said spring is less than the outer diameter of said shaft.

4. In a firing pin safety device as claimed in claim 3 wherein said lever is attached to the smaller diameter extension of said shaft.

5. In a firing pin safety device as claimed in claim 1 and a trigger, a locking pin Iockingly engaging said firing pin, and means actuated by the pulling of said trigger to the firing position for releasing said locking pin so that the firing pin is free.

6. In a firing pin safety device as claimed in claim 5 wherein said locking pin is released during the last third of the movement of the trigger. 

1. In a firing pin safety device for small firearms, the combination of a pivotally mounted hammer engageable with a firing pin, a pivotally mounted safety shaft having lock and release positions extending transversely to the firing pin and having an opening therein through which the end of the firing pin is exposed to the hammer when the shaft is in the release position, the outer surface of said safety shaft blocking said hammer from the firing pin when in the locked position, a safety lever attached to said safety shaft to enable the shaft to be pivoted to the locked position when a force is applied to said lever, and spring means mounted on said safety shaft for biasing said shaft in the release position so that the shaft is returned to the release position when the force is removed from the lever.
 2. In a firing pin safety device as claimed in claim 1, and a frame, said spring means comprising a coil tension spring around said shaft and having first and second ends, said shaft having a recess therein receiving one of said spring ends, the other end being disposed in a recess in said frame.
 3. In a firing pin safety device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said shaft has a smaller diameter extension and said spring is positioned on said extension such that the outer dimension of said spring is less than the outer diameter of said shaft.
 4. In a firing pin safety device as claimed in claim 3 wherein said lever is attached to the smaller diameter extension of said shaft.
 5. In a firing pin safety device as claimed in claim 1 and a trigger, a locking pin lockingly engaging said firing pin, and means actuated by the pulling of said trigger to the firing position for releasing said locking pin so that the firing pin is free.
 6. In a firing pin safety device as claimed in claim 5 wherein said locking pin is released during the last third of the movement of the trigger. 